DBSA Approves $200M for US-Backed Lobito Rail to Boost African Mineral Exports
The Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) has approved up to $200 million in financing for the Lobito Corridor rail project, a US-backed initiative aimed at transporting critical minerals from Central Africa’s Copperbelt to the Atlantic port in Angola.
Mpho Mokwele, DBSA’s Executive for Transacting, emphasized the project’s importance in supporting the global energy transition by facilitating the export of minerals essential for renewable energy technologies.
“The Lobito Corridor is set to become the most competitive route for exporting these minerals, offering significant cost and time savings for exporters,” Mokwele stated on Tuesday.
This financing is being provided alongside the US International Development Finance Corporation, which has committed $553 million to the project.
The railway line, operated under a 30-year concession by a consortium including commodities trader Trafigura Group and Portuguese construction company Mota Engil SGPS SA, links the Lobito port to Angola’s border with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The Lobito Corridor rail project is part of a broader US strategy to secure access to critical minerals like copper and cobalt while gaining influence in a region traditionally dominated by China.
In a related development, China is expected to finalize a deal this week with Zambia and Tanzania to upgrade and take over the concession for a rail line connecting copper mines to the Indian Ocean port of Dar es Salaam.
